Largest-Ever EAW Adaptive System Utilized for Demanding Arena Event

In partnership with Miami-based pro audio production company, Mix3 Sound, Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) brought its largest Adaptive sound system ever to the 2016 Apostolic and Prophetic Conference (CAP) in Miami. “The Adaptive system allowed an audience of more than 20,000 at the American Airlines Arena to enjoy excellent sound quality across a wide range of presentations, including sermons, speeches and prayer sessions, as well as live and recorded music,” according to the company's press release.

In an industry long dominated by the mechanically-articulated line array and J-curve approach to meeting sound coverage requirements for events and installations, Adaptive Performance is ushering in a whole new level of performance options for fixed installations and events.

The EAW Adaptive sound system deployed at CAP was the largest to date, with 116 modules in use across 16 column arrays. Each acoustical component within a module is independently powered and processed using advanced electronics. These electronics are contained in each module's Power Plant, providing all amplification, DSP, system diagnostics, and all necessary networking components in a field-replaceable and highly weather-resistant package.

According to EAW Engineer, James Bamlett, who assisted Mix3 Sound with the CAP project, because of the 360-degree seating and the in-the-round staging of the event, the system needed to be flown very high. A big advantage of the Adaptive system is the ability to provide coverage straight down from a high position. Since the vertical coverage of the system is adaptable from 90° down to 90° up, supplemental down fill or up fill enclosures are unnecessary.

“Having this level of control allows us to easily make any changes necessary without having to lower the system,” says Bamlett. “The video walls were not on any of the original drawings, but with the EAW Adaptive System we had the ability to change the coverage of the system to avoid hitting these video walls without having to re-hang the arrays. This would not have been possible with a traditional line array system. Just through our software, we were able to change the pattern of the system and avoid reflections off the video walls.”

Adaptive Performance is an EAW core technology that is designed to allow FOH engineers and system technicians pre-define and re-define their coverage in position, after the system has been deployed or even mid-show. Additionally, EAW's arrays hang in a straight column, with no physical articulation needed, simplifying load-in, set-up and tear down. For installed applications, the system has a small footprint, and can be hung once, with all coverage parameters meticulously defined through the system software.

“In a traditional J-curve line array system you'd have to measure the room, plot the room dimensions and calculate the angles between cabinets, and then rely on a lot of pinning, hang points and a lot of physical work to match the characteristics of the room,” says Bamlett. “With the Adaptive system, we're able to go in and hang the columns in a straight line, and then through our Resolution software, we can define exactly what we want to cover. It's a much quicker system to fly, requires less people, and the system is in the air faster.”

The EAW Resolution software is designed to determine the optimal array configuration for any application. Resolution allows users to model any venue and visualize a wide variety of array designs to determine what particular array configuration is best suited to the venue. Resolution software interfaces directly with Adaptive Systems via the Dante protocol, allowing users to upload the processing parameters for their system directly from their model to the physical array, adjust equalization and coverage, and monitor all Adaptive components in real time. No additional software is necessary to use Adaptive systems.